How This Year’s WR Group Impacts Justin Jefferson
The new deals for Tyreek Hill, Christian Kirk, and Davante Adams have raised some eyebrows around the NFL. Receivers are now demanding massive money. Heading into Year 3, Justin Jefferson is one of the league’s best receivers, so his $3.579 million cap is an absolute bargain.
As a result, many within Vikings Land have been speculating about how large Jefferson’s contract could be once the time comes. To be clear, nothing is imminent. He still has one more year on his rookie deal after this one, and then there is the 5th-year option for Minnesota. Nevertheless, it’s fair to wonder how massive the asking price will be once the time comes.
Justin Jefferson has been keeping an eye on the deals:
I’m excited for them and excited for what I have in store. Just knowing some of the players that got signed again. Just knowing that I can have some more great years here with this team. So definitely will be looking into that and keeping sight on that.
Somewhat lost in the shuffle, though, is a couple teams who refused to pay the huge money: the Chiefs and Packers. Rather than agree to large deals, they recouped some considerable draft capital. Now, both teams have two first-round selections in a draft that is very deep at receiver.
If the Packers and Chiefs have success with their rookies, then will more teams follow their lead? Why pay tens of millions when one can get 85% of the production for 10% of the price? A lot of teams are going to pursue this logic. We’ve already seen this with running backs, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see it with receivers, as well. Teams are always looking for a way to save a buck.
A couple years ago, Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb were strong (Jefferson, obviously, being far better). Last year, Ja’Marr Chase was excellent. They aren’t alone. Deebo Samuel has done well in his opening three years, and he’s now looking for new money. As a sophomore, Tee Higgins was the 9th best wideout on PFF. Gabriel Davis, another sophomore, finished 10th. Rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown went from 4th-round pick to the 15th-best receiver on PFF.
I could go on, but you likely get the point.
What will happen if, say, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson instantly become the WR1 on their new teams? One wonders if teams will continue to be willing to spend a lot of money on the receiver position.
Justin Jefferson deserves to be paid massive money. The timing of the other massive WR deals, though, may end up doing a disservice to Jefferson. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have a couple years to evaluate his team and the rest of the league. By the time Jefferson’s extension needs to be paid, KAM may opt for rookie talent on a cost-controlled deal.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”993640″ player=”26281″ title=”WATCH%203%20Jalen%20Reagor%20trade%20scenarios%20from%20the%20Philadelphia%20Eagles” duration=”114″ description=”We look at three ideal Jalen Reagor trade scenarios to help the young wide receiver get his career jumpstarted.” uploaddate=”2022-04-15″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/993521/993521.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]